iPhone 5: Durability after 2 years

[Retired Cat]

After a second year of use, not much has changed with the condition of my iPhone 5.

All the buttons/switch still work very well. Lightning connector and port click like new. The pink tint in the screen thankfully has not gotten worse. The display panel itself seems to have settled in. Last year it would occasionally feel loose in the area near the mute switch, but now it is pretty solid. The black slate exterior is still pristine because I keep a thin TPU case on the outside at all times. Battery is at a respectable 1200 mAh out of 1440 when new.

The big question I think is: how many more versions of iOS will Apple release for the iPhone 5? iOS 8 marked the end for iPhone 4. If the pattern holds, the 4S will be left out of iOS 9, and the 5 will be updated until the day iOS 10 goes live.

 

[Gav2k]

You'll get 9, 10 is a big ?

 

[rgarjr]

Not many since it moved to 64 bit.

 

[KUguardgrl13]

Mine seems to be stable. I get some crunchiness with the home button now and then. Battery life is still good, and it seems to handle iOS 8 well. I have the silver/white, so it has some scratches but still looks pretty good for being over two years old.

I'm not holding out for iOS 9 to be a good update for us. Forget iOS 10.

 

[mich070]

Guys what s your opinion as an iphone 5 user being on ios8?
I used last time a friend's iphone 5 on ios 8.3 and to be honest eventhough it seems to be really fluid phone without problems, I personally find that ios 7.1.2 seems much more nicer to use..


But overall, I am a user for 2 years of my iphone 5, and i am more than happy with this phone. I can use for all the needs I have, battery is holding really good. To be honest I would like to stay with this phone as long as possible.

 

[Camoxide]

Latest iOS 8 update on my iPhone 5 has started to rapidly drain the battery and it's starting to feel a bit sluggish. Kill switch engaged.


Also the rear camera doesn't focus anymore and i've replaced the home button, headphone jack and charging port.

I was planning on upgrading to the 6/+ when that came out but 1GB of RAM... Nope.

 

[Retired Cat]

Guys what s your opinion as an iphone 5 user being on ios8?

I used last time a friend's iphone 5 on ios 8.3 and to be honest eventhough it seems to be really fluid phone without problems, I personally find that ios 7.1.2 seems much more nicer to use..





But overall, I am a user for 2 years of my iphone 5, and i am more than happy with this phone. I can use for all the needs I have, battery is holding really good. To be honest I would like to stay with this phone as long as possible.

I have no regrets updating from 7.1.2 to 8.3. For some reason iOS 7 caused my battery life to plummet, but iOS 8 seems to have reversed the problem.

I'm counting on iOS 9 being the final major software update for the iPhone 5, because Apple will likely want to go 64-bit only in the future.

 

[mich070]

Latest iOS 8 update on my iPhone 5 has started to rapidly drain the battery and it's starting to feel a bit sluggish. Kill switch engaged.


Also the rear camera doesn't focus anymore and i've replaced the home button, headphone jack and charging port.

I was planning on upgrading to the 6/+ when that came out but 1GB of RAM... Nope.

How did you replace your headphone jack and changing port? did you pay for this or did you do it by urself?

 

[Camoxide]

How did you replace your headphone jack and changing port? did you pay for this or did you do it by urself?

DIY

iPhones are quite easy to work on and the parts are easy to get.

Can be a bit tricky to get the screen out and back in if the shell is dented though.

 

[eyoungren]

Guys what s your opinion as an iphone 5 user being on ios8?
I used last time a friend's iphone 5 on ios 8.3 and to be honest eventhough it seems to be really fluid phone without problems, I personally find that ios 7.1.2 seems much more nicer to use..


But overall, I am a user for 2 years of my iphone 5, and i am more than happy with this phone. I can use for all the needs I have, battery is holding really good. To be honest I would like to stay with this phone as long as possible.

I prefer iOS 6.

However Apple does not agree with me and so I find myself on 8.1.3 awaiting a jailbreak.

Should that ever arrive, I can at least dispense with iOS 8's fruity color scheme.

 

[1984world]

I prefer iOS 6.

However Apple does not agree with me and so I find myself on 8.1.3 awaiting a jailbreak.

Should that ever arrive, I can at least dispense with iOS 8's fruity color scheme.

I agree. Some features have been introduced in ios 7 and 8 that are nice, but I think ios 6 was one of, if not the best ios experience I've had to date. The only thing that is nice with changed features is with each jailbreak, different developers try different things which add some interesting twists.

 

[KUguardgrl13]

I have no regrets updating from 7.1.2 to 8.3. For some reason iOS 7 caused my battery life to plummet, but iOS 8 seems to have reversed the problem.

I'm counting on iOS 9 being the final major software update for the iPhone 5, because Apple will likely want to go 64-bit only in the future.

Yep, the first 7.1 update had TERRIBLE battery life. 7.1.2 was better, and all of the versions of 8.x.x have been fine.

 

[eyoungren]

I agree. Some features have been introduced in ios 7 and 8 that are nice, but I think ios 6 was one of, if not the best ios experience I've had to date. The only thing that is nice with changed features is with each jailbreak, different developers try different things which add some interesting twists.

I have this thought that Jony Ive went to pick up his kid from preschool one day back when Apple was developing iOS 7…the words PlaySkool and Fisher Price often come to mind when I think of iOS 7/8.

I have young kids. I get very tired of primary colors.

Just my thoughts is all.

 

[OriginalClone]

The home button on the replacement unit is bad (the original phone was replaced for home button issue).

 

[melodrake]

I'm still very happy with my iPhone 5. However, I did get it replaced for free under apple care after 1 year because the power button stopped being responsive. My current one works perfectly. Hoping to keep it for as long as possible, and would be so happy if it got to iOS 10!

 

[Imory]

Guys what s your opinion as an iphone 5 user being on ios8?
I used last time a friend's iphone 5 on ios 8.3 and to be honest eventhough it seems to be really fluid phone without problems, I personally find that ios 7.1.2 seems much more nicer to use..


But overall, I am a user for 2 years of my iphone 5, and i am more than happy with this phone. I can use for all the needs I have, battery is holding really good. To be honest I would like to stay with this phone as long as possible.

7.1.2 on an iPhone 5 is smoother than an iPhone 6 or 6 Plus is on iOS 8.3. There's honestly hardly ever any stuttering while scrolling or auto-scrolling long lists in core apps or third-party apps on 7.1.2, which unfortunately can't be said about 8.3. It's gotten significantly better though, but performance is still not quite there.

What you really should be asking is if there are features with 8.3 (iOS 8) that you're missing and truly want. Things that would really enhance your experience and how you use your phone. iOS 8 uses end-to-end encryption for basically everything, which I imagine is one of the reasons why it might run a tiny bit slower (if you're sensitive to stuttering), but the trade-off might be worth it for a lot of people.

The biggest thing you're probably missing out on is extensions, but I personally don't find using it very often expect with one app, 1Password.

All in all, a vast majority of apps are still getting updated for iOS 7.1.2, but you might want to keep an eye out for how well iOS 9 is going to run on the iPhone 5. If early impressions are it won't do very well, then you might want to update it to iOS 8.3/8.4 before iOS 9 rolls out. The reason I'm telling you this is because my understanding is that you're planning to use your phone for quite a while.

One last thing. The NR algorithm that is used in iOS 8 is too aggressive, so if you find yourself taking a lot of pictures, then I'd stay on iOS 7.

 

[Ultra AleM]

The biggest problem with iPhone 5 (updated to iOS 7 or iOS 8) is battery life compared to its original designed iOS 6 system. It was A LOT BETTER. I could easily get 9 hours of usage, while now no more than 6. Anyways, iOS 8.3 is pretty stable and smooth (but not perfect). Since the 5c has the same hardware, it may increase the life cycle of the iPhone 5 by 1 year. Who knows.

 

[VO2Max]

I've had my 5 since launch day. Yes, ios 6 and 7 were better than 8, but I really have no major complaints with 8 as it is adequate for my needs. Hardware is a different story though. I've replaced the battery myself since the original would constantly die with 20% left. Yes, I am aware of the recall for this but this all happened prior to apple issueing the recall and after my warranty ran out. As of now my volume down button does not work unless I torque the top right corner of the phone (flex cable issue, but no issue with the power button at all) and my camera has dust in it (purple specks showing) and what appears to be splotches. I am going to replace both the flex cable and camera myself when I can find a couple of hours to do so. I need to get at least another year and half out of it.

 

[2298754]

My father still has his launch day iPhone 5. It recently got a new battery from the recall, but that's it.

It's been in a case and has had a screen protector since day 1. Perfect condition. Home button and power button click perfectly.